Monday, July 10, 2006
Living On-Campus
I received a request from a fellow blogger for info on living in the Candler on-campus housing, and I wrote her back but I thought I should post it here for anyone else who was interested.
My husband and I really like living here. In fact, as soon as I signed the lease for this year, he started asking if we can stay another year after this, which would make it 3 years total, the maximum allowed. The community is great. You ride the bus and do the laundry and get the mail alongside the people from your classes. We have made some good friends here.
The complex is beautiful. If you're into modern architecture, which I am, there is an award winning conference center and chapel on site which I can look at for hours. There are lots of old trees and it backs up to a protected forest, so it feels like you are not even in the city. Then you walk to the top of the hill in front and you see the skyline. Our unit is very quiet, but we do hear the occasional siren from the ambulances of Emory hospital, maybe 3-4 a day, tops. I don't even notice it anymore. The traffic is fairly heavy on the street in front of the complex, but I can usually get out when I need to. The Marta bus and Emory bus pick up here. The Emory bus is free and goes to campus every 20 minutes (5-10 minute ride, depending on traffic). You can walk to classes in about 15 minutes also. Most people do have cars, you can go without if you ride the buses a lot, but the buses don't come that often on weekends, which can be fairly annoying.
The apartments are small. There is a kitchenette size kitchen (6x9) but with a full fridge, stove, and double sink which means NO counter space. There is a bigger kitchen in the two bedroom units. We did have room to put in a portable dishwasher we had which adds a little counter space plus a rolling island cart which also helps.
Other than that, the living/dining room seems fine to us (11x20), we have a 4 person table, a couch, a bench, a bunch of side chairs, and a 2 person game table, plus a cedar chest for a coffee table and a skinny little cabinet behind the couch. Storage furniture is good because it serves two purposes. The bedroom (11x11) is about average for an apartment I guess, but we have a bed, a desk for the computer and a bookshelf in there . The closets are enough for us-one closet for me and one closet for my husband. We store out of season clothes and spare linens under our bed and sporting equipment in our car trunks. The bathroom is normal size (5x9), but you do have to walk through the bedroom to get to it, which makes having overnight guests a little awkward, so we use a curtain for extra privacy in bed when people are here.
A lot of people have said Turner Village apartments are small for them or too expensive and have moved after a year, b ut we moved up here from a huge arts and crafts house and we were ready for a break from taking care of 6 rooms we never even spent time in. I was sick of paying all the different people for utilities and internet and cable and phone, etc. We had gas heat and an old AC in that drafty old house and sometimes our utilities would be $200 and up. Here I just pay one payment to Emory once a month. Even though the electricity at Turner Village is our responsibility it is never much. And we run the air a lot!
When we first moved in I had to get the maintenance to come bring a new fridge, paint some walls that had been messed up, and service the air conditioner, but they were very prompt and helpful. I think it has been a great place for us to start out in Atlanta, and you can always move out after a year. It makes moving here easier, without having to worry about a lot of logistics. If you are on the most bare bones budget, there are cheaper places to be had in Atlanta, especially if you go without cable, DSL, phone, etc. But that can also add a commute into the mix, with all that entails. And with evening or weekend events, it is often tempting, even living on campus, to just stay home once you get there and not go back over to Candler. I would imagine that living off campus I would never come back over here.
That is all the stuff I would have wanted to know from someone last year. Of course, it is all about the one-bedroom since I don't know much about the larger units. I hope it helps, but it really will be a different experience for every person, so take what I said with a grain of salt. I was really worried about it before I signed the lease, but we had seen the guest unit and just decided to take the leap. In the end, I think it depends on where you are coming from, and what your needs are in a living situation.
My husband and I really like living here. In fact, as soon as I signed the lease for this year, he started asking if we can stay another year after this, which would make it 3 years total, the maximum allowed. The community is great. You ride the bus and do the laundry and get the mail alongside the people from your classes. We have made some good friends here.
The complex is beautiful. If you're into modern architecture, which I am, there is an award winning conference center and chapel on site which I can look at for hours. There are lots of old trees and it backs up to a protected forest, so it feels like you are not even in the city. Then you walk to the top of the hill in front and you see the skyline. Our unit is very quiet, but we do hear the occasional siren from the ambulances of Emory hospital, maybe 3-4 a day, tops. I don't even notice it anymore. The traffic is fairly heavy on the street in front of the complex, but I can usually get out when I need to. The Marta bus and Emory bus pick up here. The Emory bus is free and goes to campus every 20 minutes (5-10 minute ride, depending on traffic). You can walk to classes in about 15 minutes also. Most people do have cars, you can go without if you ride the buses a lot, but the buses don't come that often on weekends, which can be fairly annoying.
The apartments are small. There is a kitchenette size kitchen (6x9) but with a full fridge, stove, and double sink which means NO counter space. There is a bigger kitchen in the two bedroom units. We did have room to put in a portable dishwasher we had which adds a little counter space plus a rolling island cart which also helps.
Other than that, the living/dining room seems fine to us (11x20), we have a 4 person table, a couch, a bench, a bunch of side chairs, and a 2 person game table, plus a cedar chest for a coffee table and a skinny little cabinet behind the couch. Storage furniture is good because it serves two purposes. The bedroom (11x11) is about average for an apartment I guess, but we have a bed, a desk for the computer and a bookshelf in there . The closets are enough for us-one closet for me and one closet for my husband. We store out of season clothes and spare linens under our bed and sporting equipment in our car trunks. The bathroom is normal size (5x9), but you do have to walk through the bedroom to get to it, which makes having overnight guests a little awkward, so we use a curtain for extra privacy in bed when people are here.
A lot of people have said Turner Village apartments are small for them or too expensive and have moved after a year, b ut we moved up here from a huge arts and crafts house and we were ready for a break from taking care of 6 rooms we never even spent time in. I was sick of paying all the different people for utilities and internet and cable and phone, etc. We had gas heat and an old AC in that drafty old house and sometimes our utilities would be $200 and up. Here I just pay one payment to Emory once a month. Even though the electricity at Turner Village is our responsibility it is never much. And we run the air a lot!
When we first moved in I had to get the maintenance to come bring a new fridge, paint some walls that had been messed up, and service the air conditioner, but they were very prompt and helpful. I think it has been a great place for us to start out in Atlanta, and you can always move out after a year. It makes moving here easier, without having to worry about a lot of logistics. If you are on the most bare bones budget, there are cheaper places to be had in Atlanta, especially if you go without cable, DSL, phone, etc. But that can also add a commute into the mix, with all that entails. And with evening or weekend events, it is often tempting, even living on campus, to just stay home once you get there and not go back over to Candler. I would imagine that living off campus I would never come back over here.
That is all the stuff I would have wanted to know from someone last year. Of course, it is all about the one-bedroom since I don't know much about the larger units. I hope it helps, but it really will be a different experience for every person, so take what I said with a grain of salt. I was really worried about it before I signed the lease, but we had seen the guest unit and just decided to take the leap. In the end, I think it depends on where you are coming from, and what your needs are in a living situation.
